The development of the electricity supply sector is characterised by
a dynamically growing renewable energy market and an increasing share of renewable electricity.This will compensate for the phasing out of nuclear energy and reduce the number of fossil fuel-fired power plants required for grid stabilisation. By 2050, 95% of the electricity produced in OECD North America will come from renewable energy sources. ‘New’ renewables – mainly wind, solar thermal energy and PV – will contribute over 68% of electricity generation.The advanced Energy [R]evolution scenario will not increase this share significantly. By 2030 77% and by 2050 98% will come from renewables, but the overall installed capacity of renewable generation (2,955 GW) will be higher than in the basic version.

Table 6.3 shows the comparative evolution of the different renewable technologies in OECD North America over time. Up to 2020, hydro power and wind will remain the main contributors to the growing market share. After 2020, the continuing growth of wind will be complemented by electricity from biomass, photovoltaic and solar thermal (CSP) energy.